


In the Kingdom of the Fae

by spotty_lion



Series: Final Fantasy Shenanigans [17]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 20:18:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21434110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spotty_lion/pseuds/spotty_lion
Summary: All this time, all these months, of waiting, of missing, of mourning. And here he stood, just a door’s width away from all of that being worth it. A knock away from his patience being rewarded. From seeing his love again. The thought barely beggared belief.
Relationships: Urianger Augurelt/Warrior of Light
Series: Final Fantasy Shenanigans [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1135331
Kudos: 9





	In the Kingdom of the Fae

‘I don’t think I can do this,’ Jack said, his features tense as he looked up at the building in front of him, a darker building compared to the bright colours of Il Mheg. 

All this time, all these months, of waiting, of missing, of mourning. And here he stood, just a door’s width away from all of that being worth it. A knock away from his patience being rewarded. From seeing his love again. The thought barely beggared belief.

‘He’s missed you,’ Thancred said, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. ‘Barely talked about much else.’

Jack looked away. He could not help but think back to when Zelda had seen Thancred again, reminding himself of the tears and the smiles. He could not help but think that maybe his own reunion would be nothing like that.

Urianger was so reserved. Public affection was not something that came naturally to him. And though it was a small crowd he would be faced with, it was a crowd nonetheless. He had seen instances in which the elezen had stiffened up, inches away from shutting down completely - it had happened once when he and Cid had been teasing him; brushing fingertips over his ears and resting hands on his lower back, it was suffice to say that they had not done so again for a very long time. And now here he was wanting him to make a fuss, to step out of his comfort zone. He had been called selfish before, many years ago, and it seemed they had been right.

Anjelain put a hand on Jack’s arm, bringing him out from all his thoughts and misgivings. ‘I know just how much you want to see Urianger again,’ he said, ‘and I also know just how much Urianger wants to see  _ you _ . Whatever happens, it won’t upset you.’

The hrothgar drew in a breath, one that shook and ached. He nodded. ‘Okay,’ he said, his voice quiet and small.

Thancred pushed open the door.

There was a tense moment, where Jack’s fur prickled and his ears perked up for any sort of noise from the interior of the house. Any sort of sound that would indicate Urianger was even here.

But there was nothing.

Only the ghostly breath of the wind that wandered in through the open window, that ruffled some papers that had been strewn about on the floor of the house. A panicked rug of scrolls and books that Jack knew was typical of his elezen when stress gripped his throat and tripped up his hands.

Urianger had been working hard. On what, he couldn’t be sure.

But Urianger  _ wasn’t here _ . There was no sound, barely even a scent. Jack knew his boyfriend’s scent, better than he knew his own. It smelled like books and ink, of cloth and leather. But now his nose was filled with flowers and grasses, with pixie dust and trickery.

Terrible thoughts started to creep in through his ears. Terrible thoughts of hearts painted with agony and skin doused with grief. Horrid thoughts of miserable tears shredding marble skin. Ugly thoughts of upset lungs filled with bitter lake water.

There was that hand on his bicep again. But it was different this time; thinner, lighter, but no less of an anchor to pull him out of his murky ocean. ‘He probably hasn’t heard us come in,’ Zelda said, voice soft, gentle.

Jack nodded, sucking in a breath that stank of nerves and scratched at his throat. ‘Yeah,’ he whispered.

‘Urianger,’ Thancred called, his voice bouncing off of the walls, loud and amplified in the terrible silence, ‘are you in?’

The hrothgar’s heart stammered in its rhythm as it listened to the silence. He wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there.

He was gone.

Stolen away in the night by tricky hands.

Swallowed by the glass lake.

Torn to shreds by the hungry teeth of bears made from leaves and petals.

He was as dead on the First as he was on the Source.

Tears clogged his throat and blurred his vision as he tried to imagine a life without Urianger, how he would have to return home to Cid and tell him the terrible news. How he would have no one to blame but himself for not getting there in time, for not going to him before the twins. His stomach was heavy, filled with all of his blame and all of his grief.

And then-

‘Unto a world weary of heroes, a hero wends his way.’

Surely not. He was-? It was-?

‘The Exarch did send word that thou would seek me out,’ his voice said, ‘but ne’er did I imagine that thou would arrive so soon.’

The gate that guarded the stairs swung open. Pushed open by a hand that had held his own more times than he could imagine. And then, just there before him-

‘Full glad am I to see thee once more, Ladybird, and none the worse for thy trevails.’

A globe of astrologian powers on his back, a robe as black as night tumbling around his legs, jewels of golden stardust that paled in comparison to his eyes, his face devoid of red-tinted goggles and cream hood, there he stood. His Urianger.

His lips parted, a lump formed in his throat, his eyes glimmered with fresh tears. ‘Urianger…’ he whispered, the word sounding strangely foreign on his lips, as if the name had been anything but a prayer for the last year that the elezen had been absent.

‘Hello, my love,’ Urianger said, his feet carrying him a few steps forward towards his boyfriend.

‘Urianger!’ Jack cried.

And then suddenly, he had leapt forward, clutching the elezen to his chest as the dam broke and his cheeks grew wet. There were mumbles of lonely hearts and grieving mouths, of teary smiles and yearning words. 

There was no song and dance, no fuss, just a hug and a kiss and cupped jaws.

‘God… I’ve missed you so much, love,’ Jack mumbled, forehead nuzzling against Urianger’s cheek.

‘There has not been a day that has passed where I have not thought about thee, Ladybird.’

Tears continued to fall down Jack’s face, happy tears made of sunshine and petals, as he held Urianger in his arms again. His lips were sweet with the taste of his lover, and he couldn’t help but to lean back in and taste once more. He pulled back and wiped at his face, trying to clear his vision. 

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, ‘this is a happy time… I shouldn’t be crying.’

Urianger chuckled, warmth bleeding into Jack’s chest just hearing it. ‘Now, Jack,’ he said, ‘a wise man once said to me: “ _ Everyone has feelings, and no one should begrudge you for that. _ ”’

Hearing his own words spun around a spire and the thread sewn back into his own ears caused yet more tears to trickle down the grasses of Jack’s cheeks. Many years had passed since those words had dropped from his lips, back when Urianger had been going through a ferocious storm.

‘Good thing you started dating that wise man, huh?’ he said, his nose pressing into the elezen’s shoulder just to get his scent back in his lungs again.

‘It is indeed.’


End file.
